Segerstrom Center for the Arts is proud to announce casting of 46 young dancers in American Ballet Theatre’s production of The Nutcracker performed December 13 through 22 in Segerstrom Hall. Forty-two students from the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center, plus four additional talented young dancers from Orange County, will perform alongside the world renowned ABT company, in this classic holiday show.
The opportunity to perform in this production and others in the Center’s International Dance Series is one of the very special benefits of studying in the ABT Gillespie School. Classes follow the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum, giving young students the finest professional training possible and unparalleled access to renowned dance companies and performing arts experiences.
Principal children include Logan Cooper and Juliet Garbacz as Clara, Salvatore Lodi and Chase Rogers as Nutcracker Prince, Andrew Dove and Benjamin Marshall as Fritz, and Bjorn Larsen-Gill and Grier McLarand as Little Mouse.
ABT Principal casting, includes Hee Seo as Clara, the Princess and Cory Stearns as The Nutcracker Prince on opening night, December 13. Additional casts include Misty Copeland, Sarah Lane, Isabella Boylston, Christine Shevchenko, Thomas Forster, Blaine Hoven, Joo Won Ahn and Aran Bell.
Complete Children’s Casting for The Nutcracker at Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Artists and program are subject to change.
Vanessa Kirstein – Aliso Viejo
Salvatore Lodi – Altadena
Juliet Garbacz – Corona del Mar
Sophia Cowell – Costa Mesa
Ava Soleil Hernandez – Costa Mesa
Haven Lee – Eastvale
Sophia Silva – Garden Grove
Emma Weisenberger – Garden Grove
Ava Bonneau – Huntington Beach
Alyson Kim – Huntington Beach
Benjamin Marshall – Huntington Beach
Karis Oishi – Huntington Beach
Abbie Richman – Huntington Beach
Charissa Catanus – Irvine
Kellen Hayag – Irvine
Samara Singh – La Palma
Tatiana Burns – Ladera Ranch
Chase Rogers – Ladera Ranch
Katarina Isakov – Laguna Beach
Hayleigh Martino – Laguna Beach
Logan Cooper – Long Beach
Bjorn Larsen-Gill – Long Beach
Aria Kamei-Oser – Los Angeles
Megan Bartz – Newport Beach
Matisse Braun – Newport Beach
Alexandra Caamano – Newport Beach
Koko Chang – Newport Beach
Emily Engel – Newport Beach
Ava Joseph – Newport Beach
Grier McLarand – Newport Beach
Alexandra Orradre – Newport Beach
Ophelia Owens – Newport Beach
Stella Stulik – Newport Beach
Brooke Treska – Newport Beach
Autumn Dym – Newport Coast
Sophia Bullock – Sam Clemente
Lydia Jones – San Clemente
Jocelyn Nang – Santa Ana
Andrew Dove – Tustin
Phineas Kim – Tustin
Elizabeth Tamang – Tustin
Sumitra Tamang – Tustin
Emma Tassev – Tustin
Katie Donaldson – Walpole
Matilda Mae Simmons – Yorba Linda
The Nutcracker is a beloved holiday story based on The Nutcracker and the King of Mice written by E.T.A. Hoffmann and set to a magical score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky that will be performed live by Pacific Symphony. The Los Angeles Times declared Ratmansky’s production “an unreserved classic” and “ravishing and clever enough to inspire multiple viewings.” Scenery and costumes are by award-winning designer Richard Hudson (Disney’s The Lion King) and lighting is by Jennifer Tipton.
The 2019 engagement of The Nutcracker continues an on-going relationship between Segerstrom Center and American Ballet Theatre. The Company has appeared at the Center since 1987. Important engagements include the world premiere of Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Swan Lake in 1988, the West Coast premiere of Kevin McKenzie’s new production of The Sleeping Beauty in 2007 and the world premiere of a new production of Firebird by Alexei Ratmansky in 2012.
In 1999, ABT’s production of Le Corsaire was taped in Segerstrom Hall for broadcast on PBS’ Dance In America, winning an Emmy Award. In 2003, The Dream was also taped at the Center for broadcast on Dance In America. In 2008, the Center and ABT co-commissioned Twyla Tharp’s Rabbit and Rogue, receiving its world premiere in New York and West Coast premiere at the Center.
Two more recent world premieres have also taken place including the 2015 presentation of ABT’s new production of The Sleeping Beauty, as choreographed by Marius Petipa with staging and additional choreography by Ratmansky, and 2017’s Whipped Cream, also choregraphed by Ratmansky, with design and costumes by pop-surrealist Mark Ryden. ABT’s opulent new production Harlequinade, newly choreographed by Ratmansky, received its West Coast Premiere in January 2019.
ABT will premiere another full-length production choreographed by Ratmansky on March 5, 2020 at Segerstrom Center, inspired by the Greek romance novel Callirhoe by Chariton with music by Aram Khachaturian, arranged by Philip Feeney, and sets and costumes by Jean-Marc Puissant.
The Center applauds special underwriting from Connie and Peter Spenuzza, the Huang Family Foundation and Tiffany & Co. The Center’s International Dance Series is made possible by the Audrey Steele Burnand Endowed Fund for International Dance and The Segerstrom Foundation Endowment for Great Performances. Segerstrom Center for the Arts thanks its corporate partners including Kia Motors America, Official Automotive Partner and United Airlines, Official Airline. COAST Magazine is the official media partner of the Dance Season.
The American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an expansion of the longtime relationship between the Center and American Ballet Theatre. The school, American Ballet Theatre
which opened in September 2015, combines the resources of American Ballet Theatre, America’s National Ballet Company®, and Segerstrom Center, one of the world’s leading presenters of dance. It offers unrivaled opportunities for training and nurturing future generations of dancers and dance audiences as well as furthering the development and evolution of dance. The school carries the name of Orange County philanthropist William J. Gillespie, who has been a board member of ABT since 1999 and an enthusiastic and generous donor to the Center for much of the institution’s history.
The ABT Gillespie School provides students with the highest quality of classical ballet training through the American Ballet Theatre National Training Curriculum. ABT’s National Training Curriculum is a comprehensive set of age-appropriate, outcome-based guidelines, with an emphasis on proper placement as well as safe progressions of movement while remaining sensitive to the needs of younger dancers. The curriculum offers students a rich knowledge of classical ballet technique incorporating elements of the French, Italian and Russian schools of training. The ABT Gillespie School is modeled after the program used at the renowned ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in New York. Classes include classical ballet technique, pointe, men’s training, character and body conditioning, variations, partnering and modern. All classes are held in the Center’s studios, which are also used for rehearsals by the world’s leading international ballet companies in the Center’s dance series.
Beyond the professional ballet training, students are offered additional opportunities to enrich their ballet studies including priority opportunities to audition for ABT performances at the Center as well as participation in the ABT Summer Intensives, master classes, and special ticket offers for performances at the Center.
American Ballet Theatre is one of the great dance companies in the world. Few ballet companies equal ABT for its combination of size, scope and outreach. Recognized as a living national treasure since its founding in 1940, ABT tours the United States, performing for more than 300,000 people annually, and is the only major cultural institution to do so.
For 78 years, the Company has appeared in a total of 132 cities in 50 countries and has performed in all 50 states of the United States. Under the artistic direction of Kevin McKenzie since 1992, ABT has recently enjoyed triumphant successes with engagements in Paris, Brisbane, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
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Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an acclaimed arts institution as well as a beautiful multi-disciplinary cultural campus. It is committed to supporting artistic excellence, offering unsurpassed experiences and to engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance as well as a diverse array of inspiring arts-based education and community engagement programs.
Previously called the Orange County Performing Arts Center, Segerstrom Center is Orange County’s largest non-profit arts organization. In addition to its six performance venues, Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School and the School of Dance and Music for Children with Disabilities.
The Center presents a broad range of programming for audiences of all ages, featuring international ballet and dance companies, national tours of top Broadway shows, jazz and cabaret, contemporary artists, classical music performed by renowned chamber orchestras and ensembles, family-friendly programming, and free performances on its plaza, such as outdoor movie screenings, concerts, community and cultural festivals.
Choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky
Music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky
Music performed live by Pacific Symphony
December 13 – 22, 2019
Wednesday – Friday at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m.
Sunday at 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Tickets – Start at $29
In Person – The Box Office
600 Town Center Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Open 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily
Online – www.SCFTA.org
www.ABT.org
Phone – (714) 556-2787
Open 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily
Group Sales – (714) 755-0236
Information provided is accurate at the time of printing but is subject to change. Segerstrom Center for the Arts is a public, non-profit organization. “Segerstrom Center for the Arts” is a registered trademark.
Photo Credit: Doug Gifford
